The number of Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) receiving food stamps zoomed from 1.7 million to 3.9 million between Fiscal Year 2007 and Fiscal Year 2010. In that same period, food stamp recipients in total grew from 26 million to nearly 40 million.

One reason for the catastrophic growth in the number of ABAWDs is Barack Obama’s 2009 stimulus bill, which opened the door for states to waive the work provision required of ABAWDs. That work provision mandated that to continue receiving food stamps, after three months of being unemployed ABAWDs must work or perform some type of work activity 20 hours per week.

Spending on food stamps now totals somewhere around $80 billion, twice what the number was in Fiscal Year 2008. Congress is debating a new farm bill, but it is uncertain whether it will reinstate the work provision required of ABAWDs. Presently, the work waivers foisted on the states by Obama allow ABAWDs to receive food stamps indefinitely--without working or preparing for work. Sans work requirement, there is no guarantee that food stamps are being given to those who truly cannot work.

The proposal offered by the GOP-led House wants a 5% reduction in the cost of food stamps. The Democrat Senate is only willing to cut that cost by 1%.

Nah - I assume it is the same in the US as for my relatives here - farming doesn't pay because no one wants to pay a decent price for their food. Hit the dollar menu at McDonalds - not only does your stomach hate you but the farmers do too.

I can only really comment on sheep, truck farming, and fishing. Fancy a leg of lamb? Of course you do, it is glorious. So you hit Walmart and grab some frozen New Zealand lamb. It's a steal! got to be 4 lbs of meat here and you only paid 6 bucks. Defrost that baby and slam it in the oven. Oh. It looks a lot smaller now and there is a heck of a lot of juice in the tin. You just got plumped. Your lamb was injected with saline to stop it from getting freezer burn. So, you have paid 6 bucks for 3lbs. That weight includes the bone, which you are highly unlikely to eat. You feel ripped off.

How about the farmer? A prime meat lamb (yes, there are different breeds for different purposes) goes for about $50 at auction. Raising that lamb - assuming the weather is kind, the ewe acts motherly and there are no unexpected diseases - costs about $45. And God help you if you don't have early lambs - once the main avalanche hits, you will be working at a loss. When the market is glutted, it's glutted.